Weight attachment for golf clubs

ABSTRACT

A weighting attachment is described for removably attaching to a golf club. The attachment has a mass with a bore formed therethrough and an access slot formed therein in open communication with the bore and angularly evolving therefrom to provide an entrance opening in the mass that is transverse to the bore.

O United States Patent 1151 3,680,870 Burnett et al. 1 Aug. 1, 1972 [54] WEIGHT ATTACHMENT FOR GOLF [56] References Cited CLUBS 72 I E est G B P UNITED STATES PATENTS t 1 m 188 2,608,409 8/1952 Pinkerton ..273/194 R Slmkm wash' 99201 3 458 203 7/1969 Mangis 273/194 A Cues, 4004 Winston Drive Primary Examiner-George J. Marlo [73] Assignee: said Burnett, by said Cates Attorney-Greek Wells et al.

[22] Filed: July 8, 1971 [57] ABSTRACT [21] Appl' 160:, A weighting attachment is described for removably attaching to a golf club. The attachment has a mass with 52 US. Cl. .273/194 R 272/84 a We fmmed therethmugh and an access fumed therein in open communication with the bore and an- 51] Int. Cl. ..A63b 69/36 1 l l h f 58 Field of Search ..273/194, 165, 171, 193, 186, y t ere mm e an entrance 273/183; 24/129 R, 129 A, 257 R; 58/129, 135; 272/84 opening in the mass that is transverse to the bore.

6 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures PATENT'ED HB 1 9 2 3,680,870

' SHEET 1 BF 2 1 WEIGHT ATTACHMENT FOR GOLF CLUBS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to golf clubs and more particularly to weight attachments for golf clubs to increase the weight of the golf clubs during'practice swings to improve the users coordination andtiming.

Several weighting attachments have been proposed for attaching to golf clubs. Examples of such weighting devices are disclosed in the Pinkerton U.S. Pat. No. 2,608,409; Greenshields, U.S. Pat. No. 3,133,735 and Mangis, U.S. Pat. No. 3,458,203. All of these patents recognize the desirability of increasing the weight of the head end of the golf clubs for warm up swings to improve the users coordination and timing. The Pinkerton patent provides a tapered cylindrical collar composed of a single piece of rubber having a central bore and side slot extending radially therefrom so that it may be yieldably forced upon the shaft of the club and then moved axially downward to the head to provide an increased weight near the head of the club during the practice swing. The Greenshieldspatent shows a weight attachment that is attachable to a wood-type golf club utilizing a straddling mechanism that clamps to'the head portion of the wood. The Mangin patent describes a weighted attachment similar to Pinkerton having a radial slot forming side walls that engage the back and front of an iron-type golf club. I

One of the principal objects of this invention is to provide a weighting attachment for a golf club that has superior features to that of the above-mentioned.

devices including additional safety.

An additional object of this invention is to provide a weighting attachment for applying to golf clubs for use during practice swings to improve the users coordination and timing in whichthe weighted attachment can be easily placed on and removed from the golf club when desired, but which will not fly off the club during use. I

Another object of this invention is to provide a weighting attachment for golf clubs thatis capable of being attached to either iron or wood clubs.

A further object of this invention is to provide a weighting attachment for a golf club in which the unit can be conveniently carried in ones pocket or in ones golf bag when not in use. i

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent upon the reading of the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS This invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a weighting attachment embodying the principal features of this invention attached to a wood-type golf club;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a weighting attachment illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is atransverse vertical cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a transverse vertical cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view take along line 55 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the weighting attachment mounted on an iron-type golf club;

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view taken along line 7-7 in FIG. 2; and

FIGS. 8-10 are sequence illustration views showing the mounting of the weighting attachment on a golf club.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now in detail to the drawings, there is illustrated in FIG. 1 a weighting attachment generally designated by the numeral 10 for use on golf clubs 11 to provide a training aid for golfers to develop their swing coordination and timing. Golf clubs are generally classified woods, shown in FIG. 1, or as irons, illustrated in FIG. 6. Each golf club 11 has a head 15 for engaging a golf ball. The head 15 has a heel 16 that is attached to a lower end 18 of a shaft 17 through a shank or hosel section 20. The shank section 20 generally has a tapered portion 23 that extends from a minimum diameter at the lower end 18 to a maximum diameter at or near the heel 16.

The weighting attachment 10 hasa body or weighted mass 26. The shape of the body 26 is not overly important to this invention, as several types of shapes are clearly applicable. The body 26 that is shown in the drawings is elongated and is somewhat egg-shaped. The body 26 could also be in the shape of a sphere, a cube, a rectangular block, or numerous other configurations and shapes. For illustration purposes, the exterior surface of the body 26 is divided into a front surface 27, a back surface 28, side surfaces 30 and 31 and end surfaces 32 and 33.

The body 26 has a longitudinal bore 36 formed therethrough extending from end to end, in which the bore is tapered forming a tapered cylindrical wall 37 which corresponds to the taper of the shank section 20. The bore 36 forms bore openings 40 and 41 in the end surfaces 32 and 33 respectively.

One of the principal features of this invention relates to an access slot generally designated by the numeral 45 that communicates with the bore 36 including the end openings 40 and 41 and then evolves from the bore pivotally (angularly) and laterally from the bore axis forming an angularly displaced entrance opening 66 in the side surface 31. The access slot 45' has a width slightly greater than the diameter of the lower end 18 of the shaft 17 to enable the shaft to be inserted into the entrance opening 66 and pass through the access slot 45 to the bore 36. The width of the access slot 45 is less than the maximum diameter of the shank or hosel section 20 to prevent the weighted attachment from flying off the club during the practice swing. The access slot as shown, has a pivotal section 47 that lies in a longitudinal plane incorporating the bore axis. The pivotal section 47 communicates with the bore 36 along its full length including the bore openings 40 and 41 and evolves in a pivotal (angular) direction about a pivot point illustrated by the numeral 48. The pivotal section 47 forms a side slot segment 50 and a diametrical opposite side slot segment 51 in the body. The side slots 50 and 51 form side openings 53 and 54 that extend from the bore openings 40 and 41 along the side surfaces 30 and 31. The side slot segment 50 has opposing side walls 56 and 57. The side slot segment 51 has opposing side walls 58 and 59.

The access slot 45 has a lateral section 61 communicating with the pivotal section 47 with the lateral section 61 evolving laterally from the bore axis in a plane that transversely intersects the bore axis and the plane of the pivotal section 47 passing and passing through the entrance opening 66. The lateral section 61 forms a side opening 63 communicating with the side opening 53. The lateral section 61 also forms a side opening 65 communicating with the side opening 54. When viewed from the sides, the side openings 53 and 63 and the side opening 54 and 65 each form an L-shaped cut in the sides. The lateral section 61 forms opposing side walls 67 and 68.

Although the access slot 45, as illustrated, shows two distinct sections 47 and 48 in which the section 47 lies in substantially one plane incorporating the bore axis and the lateral section 61 lies in a transverse other plane intersecting the bore axis and the one plane, it is contemplated that the access slot 45 could evolve both pivotally. (angularly) and laterally in the same manner as a bolt or screw thread instead of having a distinct lateral section and a distinct pivotal section. The only requirement is that the entrance opening 66 of the access slot 45 be angularly displaced to the bore axis so that the weighting attachment must be both laterally moved and rotated to insert the weighting attachment onto the lower end 18 of the shaft and then move longitudinally to receive the shank section in the bore 36.

The mounting of the weighting attachment is illustrated in FIGS. 8-10. In FIG. 8, the weighting attachment is shown moving the shaft laterally into the entrance opening 66 and through the lateral section 61 and into the pivotal section 47. FIG. 9 illustrates pivotal or rotational movement of the weighting attachment to pass the lower end 18 of shaft 17 through the pivotal section 47 to align the bore axis with the shaft axis as shown. The weighting attachment is then moved longitudinally along the shaft until the shank is firmly received within the bore 36 and engages the wall 37 (FIG. 10).

A golfer can easily apply the weighting attachment 10 to a golf club and then take a few practice or warm up swings before hitting the golf ball to improve his timing and coordination. Before the final swing, the attachment is removed and can be readily stored in a golf bag pocket or pants pocket.

It should be understood that the above described embodiment is simply illustrative of the principles of this invention and that numerous other embodiments may be readily devised by those skilled in the art without deviating therefrom. Therefore, only the following claims are intended to define the invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A weighting attachment for removably mounting to a golf club having a head, a shaft and a shank connecting the head to a lower end of the shaft, comprismg:

a weighted mass having an exterior surface and a bore formed through the mass with end openings along a bore axis to frictionally receive said shank therein;

said mass having an access slot formed therein in open communication with the bore including the end openings that evolve laterally and pivotally fro the bore axis ormiqgg side entr nce opening m t e exterior su ace 0 t e mass w lch is transverse to the bore axis; and

said access slot having a width sufiicient to enable the weighted mass to be inserted onto the shank by initially laterally moving and pivoting the mass with respect to the shaft axis to pass the lower end of the shaft into the side entrance opening and through the access slot to the bore and then moving the mass longitudinally along the shaft until the shank is frictionally received in the bore.

2. The weight attachment as defined in claim 1 wherein the width of the access slot is great enough to accommodate the diameter of the lower end of the shaft but not the diameter of the shank.

3. The weight attachment as defined in claim 1 wherein the mass bore is tapered from end to end to correspond to a shank having a progressively increasing diameter from the lower end of the shaft to the head.

4. The weight attachment as defined in claim 1 wherein the access slot has a first section communicating with the entire length of the bore including the end openings that pivotally evolve from the bore axis in a first plane containing the bore axis and a second section communicating with the first section that laterally evolves from the bore axis to the side opening in a second plane that transversely intersects the bore axis and the first plane.

-5. The weight attachment as defined in claim 4 wherein the access slot forms two opposed L-shaped openings in the exterior surface communicating between the entrance opening and the bore openings.

6. The weight attachment as defined in claim 1 wherein the weighted mass is elongated along the bore axis. 

1. A weighting attachment for removably mounting to a golf club having a head, a shaft and a shank connecting the head to a lower end of the shaft, comprising: a weighted mass having an exterior surface and a bore formed through the mass with end openings along a bore axis to frictionally receive said shank therein; said mass having an access slot formed therein in open communication with the bore including the end openings that evolve laterally and pivotally from the bore axis forming a side entrance opening in the exterior surface of the mass which is transverse to the bore axis; and said access slot having a width sufficient to enable the weighted mass to be inserted onto the shank by initially laterally moving and pivoting the mass with respect to the shaft axis to pass the lower end of the shaft into the side entrance opening and through the access slot to the bore and then moving the mass longitudinally along the shaft until the shank is frictionally received in the bore.
 2. The weight attachment as defined in claim 1 wherein the width of the access slot is great enough to accommodate the diameter of the lower end of the shaft but not the diameter of the shank.
 3. The weight attachment as defined in claim 1 wherein the mass bore is tapered from end to end to correspond to a shank having a progressively increasing diameter from the lower end of the shaft to the head.
 4. The weight attachment as defined in claim 1 wherein the access slot has a first section communicating with the entire length of the bore including the end openings that pivotally evolve from the bore axis in a first plane containing the bore axis and a second section communicating with the first section that laterally evolves from the bore axis to the side opening in a second plane that transversely intersects the bore axis and the first plane.
 5. The weight attachment as defined in claim 4 wherein the access slot forms two opposed L-shaped openings in the extErior surface communicating between the entrance opening and the bore openings.
 6. The weight attachment as defined in claim 1 wherein the weighted mass is elongated along the bore axis. 